Lint collector for laundry driers



July 10, 1956 J. A. ENGEL 2,753,952

LINT COLLECTOR FOR LAUNDRY DRIERS Filed Dec. 28,1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. J ANTHUNY ENBEL ATTORNEY July 10, 1956 ENGEL 2,753,952

LINT COLLECTOR FOR LAUNDRY DRIERS Filed Dec. 28,1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. J ANTHONY ENGEL A2727 Iver limited States Patent 2,753,952 LINT COLLECTOR FOR LAUNDRY DRIERS J. Anthony Engel, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Murray Corporation of America, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application December 28, 1953, Serial No. 400,423 3 Claims. (Cl. 183-62) This invention relates to laundry dryers, and more particularly to lint collectors therefor.

Laundry dryers of the tumbler type are known to generate lint as a result of the tumbling and flexing of the laundry undergoing drying. In such dryers, a stream of air, heated or otherwise treated to facilitate absorption of moisture, is passed through the drum, such air being withdrawn from the room space wherein the dryer is located, and subsequently discharged into such room space, or recirculated as in some cases, after passage through the laundry. In order to avoid discharge of lint into the room space, such discharge is at times connected to outside atmosphere. In any event, various forms of screening, traps, wet plates, and the like, have been proposed to remove the lint from the air exhaust or prior to recirculation. Such screens and traps, however, build up lint and become clogged, and are diflicult to clean. Additionally, lint collects in such manner as to hinder and choke off the normal flow of air so as to disturb the operational balance of the dryer controls and prevent efiicient operation, and the construction of such collectors is such that cleaning is a cumbersome operation, often resulting in spread of loose lint in the room atmosphere. The presence of lint in concentration may also constitute a fire hazard, particularly where heat is supplied by gas-firing or infra-red electric heater coils.

The present invention is directed to provision for collecting such lint in disposable containers, and providing means whereby such containers may be readily replaced. The invention further has to do with the use of porous walled bags constructed of light weight, long-fibered, porous tissue paper having wet strength, and composed of synthetic, artificially formed fibers. In one form or application of the invention, there is provided a mounting for such bags on a removable draw support whereby the support and collector bag together can be quickly withdrawn from the dryer, and conveniently placed for removal and replacement of the porous filter bags, the bag and support being on assembly insertable into the dryer as a unit with a minimum of attention.

The invention further is directed to the use of porous paper of the type referred to for the collection of lint, such paper affording substantially unobstructed flow of air therethrough while being substantially 100% effective in the removal of lint from the air stream. The paper, being unaffected by moisture, retains its strength for long periods despite the moisture-laden air to which it is subjected.

Paper admirably suited for the purpose may be similar to that produced in accordance with United States Patents Nos. 2,414,833 and 2,477,000, and the disclosures referred to therein.

The above and other novel features of the invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is expressly understood that the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the inbut which will restrict and vention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a laundry dryer having the lint collector applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, showing the exhaust ducting of the dryer;

Figure 3 is a sectional view line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the lint collector per se.

In Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a dryer cabinet 10 having therein a perforate revolving drum 12 mounted for rotation in a housing 14, the housing having radial outflow ports 16 and 18 leading into a manifold 20 connected to the inlet of a centrifugal blower 22. The blower 22 has an outlet 24 projecting into one end of an elongated rectangular cross-section chamber 26, which chamber is open at the forward end as at 28 so as to be accessible from the front of the dryer. The chamber has a flat bottom wall 30, side walls 32 and 34, and a top wall 36. The end wall 38 has projecting therethrough the blower outlet 24, which terminates in what may be referred to as an enlarged nipple 40, the latter being shown as an integral part of the blower casing. The end wall 38 may have an outlet duct 42 connectible to an outside exhaust, should it be desirable to avoid exhausting moisture-laden air into the room atmosphere. In such event, the forward end of the chamber may be covered. The structure thus far described is similar in many respects to that shown in an application Serial No. 364,020, filed June 25, 1953.

Within the chamber, there is positioned a support plate or platform 44 having a width substantially that of the spacing between the side walls 32 and 34, the platform being adapted to he slid in position over the bottom wall 30. The platform is of a length slightly greater than the length of the chamber, and at its forward end is provided with an upwardly bent portion 46 forming a handle. A friction detent 48 is mounted on the platform, such detent having a finger 50 engaging the side wall 32 so as to provide a resilient frictional grip between the platform 44 and the chamber. Mounted upon the inner end of the platform is a sleeve 52 having a reduced diameter circular outlet 54 and an enlarged inlet portion 56 adapted to telescope over the nipple 40. The rim of the enlarged portion 56 is provided with a resilient seal 58 to engage the exterior surface of the nipple 40, so that when the platform 44 is slid into the position shown in Figures 2 and 3, the sleeve 52 makes connection with the nipple 40 in a substantially air-tight fashion.

Lying on the platform is a lint collector bag 60 hav ing a closed outer end 62 and a resiliently contracted inner end 64, such end being gathered as at 66 and having an elastic band 68 whereby the gathered end may be readily stretched over and placed upon the reduced diameter outlet flange 54 of the sleeve 52. The bag is formed preferably of synthetic paper of a porous type capable of permitting relatively free passage of air therethrough,

substantially absolutely prevent the escape of lint. The material employed to construct the bag should be moisture-resistant because of the dampness of the lint and exhaust air received from the dryer, it being understood that the collector bag will serve a useful period of many weeks before filling and replacement, so that dampness collecting within the bag might seriously weaken the bag structure unless fabricated from moisture-resistant material.

In practice, such a bag may be constructed from material similar to that disclosed in the patents referred to taken substantially on the hereinabove. The density of the paper utilized in practice may be such as to normally permit the fiow of about 1 /2 cu. ft. of air per square inch of surface per minute, with a pressure drop of as little as .13 in. of water. It will be appreciated that air exhausting from the blower will enter the bag 60, which bag may for convenience have a cross-section 2 /2" x 4", and a length of or a sur face area approaching 195 sq. in., and such air will readily pass through the walls of the bag, allowing the bag to collect the lint. The stream of air emitted from the centrifugal blower will tend to deposit the lint at the closed end of the bag, and as lint builds up, the bag will be gradually filled from the closed end toward the gathered end.

When it is desired to inspect the bag to determine whether the lint gathered is sufficient to obstruct passage through a substantial portion of the side wall thereof, resulting in undue restriction to the passage of air, it is merely necessary to withdraw the platform or support plate 44 from within the chamber 26. If it appears that a replacement is desirable, the bag may be removed and disposed of, and a new bag placed in position, and the platform replaced within the chamber. When the platform is reinserted into the chamber, the enlarged end 56 of the sleeve 52 will automatically align with the nipple 40, and when the platform is pushed to the home position, the nipple and sleeve will have been connected and the seal flexed so as to provide a sealed connection from the blower exhaust to the lint collector sleeve and bag.

If it be desired to exhaust air through the outlet port 42, a plate may be secured to the handle portion 46 which will close off the open front end of the chamber 26, all in the manner disclosed in the above referred-to copending application. When this is done, the knockout disk 70 will be removed.

While the collector has been shown as a built-in feature in respect to the dryer shown, it will be apparent that the collector bag need merely be applied over the discharge from the dryer, no matter where located. The material of which the bag is fabricated will efiectively block the passage of lint, while afiording little applicable back pressure to the blower until substantial quantities of lint have been collected.

The paper of which the bag may be constructed is that similar in structure to that used to a large extent in the preparation of tea bags. An area of 195 sq. in. or thereabouts of the material readily passes enough air for domestic dryer operation, which may be about 90 cu. ft./min., without noticeable back pressure. The bag offers little restriction to the flow until it becomes filled to a considerable extent with lint, at which time the dryer controls may extend operation of the machine and by temperature rise signal the need for attention as described in application Serial No. 328,928, filed December 31, 1952.

While a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. As various changes in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, reference will be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry dryer lint collector, comprising in combination, an exhaust nipple for lint-laden dryer exhaust air, a removable support plate having a tubular fitting adapted to couple at one end with said nipple in airtight fashion, means for supporting said plate with said end of said fitting telescoping over said nipple, a resilient flexible seal adapted to engage said nipple and carried by said fitting, said seal having its nipple-engaging edge flexed toward the end of said nipple when in coupled relation, and a filter bag of porous fibrous material mounted on said plate, and having a single open end yieldingly embracing the other end of said fitting.

2. A laundry dryer lint collector, comprising an elongated rectangular sectioned horizontally extending discharge chamber, having a dryer exhaust connection at one end, and being open at the other, said exhaust connection having a nipple projecting into said chamber, a tray resting upon the bottom wall of said chamber, and adapted to be manually withdrawn from said chamber through the open end thereof, a coupling sleeve mounted on said tray in telescoping relation to said nipple, said coupling sleeve having a seal at one end adapted to engage said nipple, a disposable elongated bag composed of porous moisture resistant material lying on and supported by said tray within said chamber, said bag having an open end embracing the other end of said sleeve, and means for securing said open end upon said sleeve.

3. A laundry dryer lint collector, comprising in combination, an exhaust nipple for lint-laden dryer exhaust air, a removable support plate having a tubular fitting adapted to couple at one end with said nipple in air-tight fashion, means for supporting said plate with said end of said fitting aligned with said nipple, a resilient flexible seal adapted to engage said nipple and mounted in fixed relation to said fitting, said seal having its nipple-engaging edge flexed by engagement with said nipple when in coupled relation, and a filter bag of porous fibrous material mounted on said plate, and having a single open end yieldingly embracing the other end of said fitting.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 980,832 Pittlekow Jan. 3, 1911 2,210,270 Thwaites Aug. 6, 1940 2,467,503 Scriven Apr. 19, 1949 2,580,645 Doughman Jan. 1, 1952 2,612,705 Kauflman Oct. 7, 1952 2,644,246 Robinson July 7, 1953 

